1. The Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a door for use in shoot houses and ballistic training. More specifically, the present invention relates to a modular training door for forced entry which may be quickly and cost effectively replaced.
2. State of the Art
In conducting training for individuals such as police officers, military personnel, etc. it is desirable to duplicate the conditions which the individual will encounter while working. Thus, training should simulate job activities, with the goal of making the training as realistic as is practical.
It is desirable for individuals such as police officers and military personnel to participate in training scenarios such as entering buildings or rooms, or sweeping areas. In actual working scenarios, these tasks often involve breaking down doors. Therefore, it is ideal for training scenarios intended to simulate these working conditions to also involve breaking down doors.
Traditionally, a conventional door is installed into the training area, and the trainees enter the door and complete the exercise. The common methods for entering a closed or locked door include: kicking in the door, using a battering ram to break in the door, using a shotgun to blast away the door latch or hinges, and using explosives to blast through the door. Thus, the door is typically destroyed during the exercise.
Ordinary doors are somewhat expensive, typically up to a few hundred dollars depending on the type of door. Additionally, some time and work is required to install a new door after the previous door has been used.
The expenses in performing training where individuals break through doors are significant because the door is often destroyed during every training exercise. Where multiple doors may be used inside of a training building, there is considerable time and expense to replace all of the doors prior to the next training session.
A reusable training door has been made which is designed to be kicked or smashed open without destroying the door. The door is attached to a specialized door frame with a number of pegs having a star shaped cross section. The door is then opened by hitting or kicking the door with sufficient force to break the pegs. The specialized pegs are, however, fairly expensive, making the door less practical for repeated use. Additionally, the door may not be opened in a variety of methods commonly used, including shooting the door open or blasting the door open, without destroying the door.
Training doors, such as those discussed above, are not known in a shoot house. Training doors have been built to allow limited types of entry techniques to be practiced, such as forcing a door open, but the training doors known are simply placed in a doorjamb, placed vertical, braced to remain vertical when hit, and broken open. They are not used in combination with a larger training environment such as a shoot house. As such, the training doors have limited training benefit as the door is simply broken open, and is not used in the context of a training scenario.
There is thus a need for a door which is cheaper and easier to use than a conventional door in training individuals such as police and military personnel in breaking through doorways. There is also a need for a reusable door which is not destroyed during the training exercise, which uses inexpensive and readily available replacement parts if necessary, and which may be opened by a variety of methods commonly used by police and military personnel. There is also a need for a training door which may be mounted inside of a shoot house so as to provide a realistic environment in which to use the training door.